


When Your Coat's Too Thin

by bimpson



Category: Cabaret (1972), Cabaret - Kander/Ebb
Genre: 1930s, Berlin (City), Canon Compliant, Canon Universe, Crying, Female Protagonist, Female-Centric, Gen, Germany, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Musicals, Nazi Germany, One Shot, Post-Canon, Sad, Sad Ending, Short, Short One Shot, Spoilers, Theatre, hopeless
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2020-11-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:20:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27677974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bimpson/pseuds/bimpson
Summary: Sally Bowles thinks about her budding career and whether or not this whole showbiz thing is worth it.
Relationships: Sally Bowles/Cliff Bradshaw
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	When Your Coat's Too Thin

**Author's Note:**

> trigger warning put at the end for those who want to avoid spoilers. jump to end notes to read!  
> also this was supposed to be based off the prompt "crisp air" but i decided to be sad instead <3

Sally Bowles was a dancer, and a dancer dances. She would argue she was a singer too, but many would not agree with her. As she sat on the balcony of her residence, she thought about if this whole showbiz thing was worth it.

She was an amateur, there was no way around that. If she could upgrade to a more prestigious club, she was sure a director would scout her and she would become a real actress, but that didn’t seem possible. Max was the best person she could get to let her perform. Though she loved the Kit Kat Klub, it was nothing but a sleazy little place; somewhere you go to get your kicks for the night. It was fun, yes, but it was no place for a true actress.

Sally shivered as the breeze kicked in. Ever since she sold her fur coat for the operation, she was much more prone to being cold. Or perhaps ever since Cliff left, she noticed the cold much more often.

Sally’s thoughts stopped in their tracks. Cliff. He had only left a few weeks ago, and her life had deteriorated so much since then. She still lived in their little flat, but it wasn’t as cozy as it had been before. Fraulein Schneider was not the brash but warm woman she used to be. In just a few weeks, she had turned into a frightened, tired woman. The threat looming over Berlin had taken her only chance at love away from her, and she no longer had a reason to get up in the morning.

Sally shook off the thought- she was never one to dwell on depressing things. She instead opted to think about the Emcee, one of her dearest friends. They were supposed to do a set at the club together later that night, some political song Sally didn’t understand. It didn’t matter to her too much; she didn’t follow politics as it didn’t affect her. She was sure the Emcee knew what he was doing and-

A knock at the door made her jump. It was only two in the afternoon- she rarely got any visitors until after midnight. Confused, she went to answer it.

Standing behind the door was a handsome young German man she had seen in the crowd at the club before. “Fraulein Bowles, I have a letter for you. From Bobby.” He handed the letter over and left before Sally could even think of a reply. Even more confused than before, she went back to her post on the balcony.

Bobby wasn’t the type to write letters; if he needed to get ahold of her, he would just call. The blonde felt uneasy, something was up and she wasn’t sure what. Not wanting to dwell on what it might be, she opened the letter.

Inside was a one-page letter telling her not to come to the club that night. They had taken away the Emcee earlier that day for “promoting a deviant lifestyle,” and everyone else associated with him was likely in danger of being taken too. He wasn’t sure where they took him, but as no one could get in contact with him, he was sure it wasn’t anywhere good. The younger man also urged her to get out of Berlin as a whole; Sally was a regular at the club, and he was sure she would be one of their next targets.

Sally’s heart broke. The Emcee was the only person she had left, and he was _gone._ She hoped that maybe he would be alright, and this was just a big misunderstanding, but she couldn’t convince herself of such a lie this time.

The thought of leaving the city wrecked her as well; Berlin was a beautiful place with beautiful people, couldn’t she just dye her hair and change her name? Maybe she could just make a whole new persona and move somewhere else in town, maybe a smaller flat with some man that would take her in.

Deep down, she knew that wasn’t possible. Reality was finally hitting her: _Cliff was right._

On most days Sally wasn’t a crier, but on this day she was. She had messed up, and she couldn’t fix the situation by running off with someone this time.

For the first time in her life, Sally was on her own.

**Author's Note:**

> tw: takes place during nazi germany, death implied, references to Sally's abortion, generally sad. nazi are never mentioned by name but like, You Know what this musical's about.


End file.
